Pleasant View shares expansion plans

Pleasant View Retirement Community unveiled plans for the future of its nearly 50-acre campus at 544 N. Penryn Road, Manheim on Feb. 15.

Jonathan Hollinger, Pleasant View president and CEO, said nearly 75 percent of the 400 residents on campus are from the Elizabethtown, Mount Joy and Manheim areas, with the majority coming from Manheim. The retirement community recently created a new strategic plan and updated its vision statement and core values. The vision for the future was crafted with input from retirement community residents and staff, board members, and Manheim area leaders.

“We looked at ways we can be a better partner in the community. Engaging with the community has been part of Pleasant View’s mission since its founding in 1955,” he said. “Edna Hoffer and Grace Barto envisioned a faith-based haven for elderly residents. We want to remain true to that vision as we serve our current residents and look to the future.”

Two of the ways the retirement community engages with the wider community are the Town Square Health Club, a fitness center with about 1,300 members; and Pleasant View Care At Home. Hollinger said fitness center membership is open to anyone age 45 and older. Some changes in the past year include the addition of a golf simulator, and the pool now is a salt water pool. Previously the fresh water pool used chlorine, but Hollinger said the switch to salt water does not require chlorine, which can dry skin.

Pleasant View Care At Home, which launched in 2007, is available to on-campus residents as well as those living within 15 miles of the campus.

“One of the trends in retirement living is ‘aging in place.’ Services like our care at home allow people to remain in their own homes as long as they can, and then move to a retirement community in their 80s or 90s. Or, if they’re already on-campus, it allows them to retain their current living arrangement for as long as possible,” he explained.

With 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 each day, Hollinger said Pleasant View’s leadership considered how to meet the needs of this new generation of retirees, while continuing to serve residents already on its campus.

One element of the proposed master plan for the retirement community is to develop another living option as an extension of the Town Square corridor. West Lawn Heights would initially contain two private apartment buildings — each with 18 units of 1,300 to 1,700 square feet of living space. Each three-story building would contain ground level garage parking and two stories of apartments. Each apartment would have two outside exposures.

Another element would be to expand dining options to create greater variety and increase social interaction. Hollinger said some options being considered are patio dining, a café, coffee shop and restaurant.

Big changes are ahead for Pleasant View Retirement Community. The proposed cultural center will include event space, a new home for the Manheim Community Library, a maker’s space (artisan studios where artists can work, and a possible day care facility. (Photo by Rochelle Shenk)

“These new dining options would be open not only to our residents and their families, but also to the outside community,” he explained.

To provide additional opportunities for community engagement, Pleasant View is planning to develop the adjacent 58-acre Hoffer Farm. The key element of this site would be a 12,000 to 15,000 square foot cultural center. Plans for the facility include event space, a new home for the Manheim Community Library, a maker’s space (artisan studios where artists can work and/or demonstrate their craft), and a possible day care facility.

Other uses being considered for the farm itself include walking trails, sunflower fields, a pollinator and butterfly garden, and a hydroponics area that could be developed in conjunction with the Manheim Central ag-ed department.

“We want to integrate the community at large into our offerings. Our new mission statement is ‘we aspire to provide healthy vibrant living — full of joy, meaning and purpose — through Christ-like service.’ That refocusing and our renewed commitment to our founders’ vision has given a new vibrancy to Pleasant View,” said board secretary John Kegarise.

Hollinger said that in the future Pleasant View will also consider how to develop another adjoining tract it owns, which is known as the Hershey tract. He said the retirement community is also considering an urban living alternative in Lititz that would expand Pleasant View’s options for residential living beyond the borders of its campus. That potential project is still in the planning and discussion stage.

“It’s pretty exciting,” he said, “but the key thing for us is to continue to fulfill our founders’ vision.”

Rochelle Shenk is a correspondent for the Lititz Record Express. She welcomes your comments and questions at RAASHENK@aol.com.